The Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office has brought charges against two Kurds before the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court (OLG). The two activists are accused of membership in a “terrorist” organization abroad under Sections 129a/129b—referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)—as the public prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday.
According to information from the Central Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the two Kurds, aged 63 and 64, are alleged to have supported PKK activities in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania from 2020 until March 12, 2025. The focus was on “organizational, financial, and propaganda matters,” in particular participation in fundraising campaigns, according to the statement.
According to the indictment, the 63-year-old activist is alleged to have been responsible for donations totaling €178,000 between mid-2024 and March 2025. In addition, he is said to have participated in internal meetings of the “PKK Sector North” as “head of the PKK area of Kiel” from September 2024 onwards. He has been in custody since his arrest on March 12.
The other activist, who is one year older, is accused of accepting donations totaling €3,000 in 2024 and storing a further €87,550 in his apartment near Lübeck until March 2025. In addition, the 64-year-old is alleged to have co-organized several “propaganda events,” according to the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office. No decision has yet been made on whether to allow the charges against the two seniors to proceed.
Raids based on a decision by the Hamburg Higher Regional Court
In the early hours of March 12, extensive police measures were taken against Kurdish activists and association structures in Kiel and Lübeck based on a decision by the Hamburg Higher Regional Court. With the participation of special units and sniffer dogs, private apartments in both cities and the Kurdish Community Center in Kiel were raided and searched. The Federation of Communities from Kurdistan in Northern Germany (FED-DEM) condemned the action as a “massive attack” and described it as “a new level of escalation in the repression against the Kurdish movement in Germany.”
Police replaced door locks at Kurdish association
The police forcibly entered the apartments, confiscated personal belongings such as cell phones and documents, and left the living quarters in a state of disarray. According to FED-DEM, it was particularly alarming that the police had entered the Kurdish community center in the absence of the association members and replaced all the door locks—an action that the umbrella organization considered to be deliberate intimidation. The raids were said to be part of a long-standing strategy to criminalize the Kurdish movement in Germany and suppress its legitimate political and cultural activities.
Raids just days after ceasefire
The timing of the raids was also noteworthy, as the PKK had announced a ceasefire just a few days earlier, thereby initiating a new peace process with the Turkish state and representative Abdullah Öcalan. “Instead of supporting this step, the German state continues to act against Kurds with its anti-Kurdish policy and continues its repression of Kurdish activists,” FED-DEM said. In the meantime, the PKK has officially dissolved its party structures and declared the armed struggle over.
Source: ANF News
